My interview with Leibstandarte SS Oberscharfuhrer Kurt Schmidt - April 2015

[ibrahim ahmad]

This interview was recorded on Wednesday , 23rd April 2015. It was done in Hamburg , Germany and the person whom I interviewed was , Kurt Schmidt. And how I got to know him was though his granddaughter who is one of my good friend, Anna Lina.

He held the rank of SS Sturmann in 1941 and rose up all the way to SS Oberscharführer in 1944 until he was captured by the Russians in Berlin. His commander at that time was SS Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke. And his unit was the premier fighting unit of Germany , The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - Wikipedia

My previous meetings with veterans were members of the Kriegsmarine who were part of the Monsun Uboot submarine group , The Monsun U-Boats – WW2 German Submarines In Asia As a side note - How I met her granddaughter was very amusing !! While at a party in Singapore, a good German friend of mine introduced me to another German woman who married an Indonesian and living in Bali. We met again for my birthday dinner at Canggu Beach, Bali after a good surfing session and she found out about my interest in history. Later, a couple of weeks when she was back for a short holiday , she phoned me and told me that her Opa, grandfather was a soldier too , and was a member of the Leibstandarte. She didnt know what this means until I gave her a brief introduction and my interest. She was really surprised and very proud of her Opa .... By the way, even though hes turning 95, he is smart enough to use skype via the iphone 6+ to speak with his granddaughter !!

Here is the full audio interview
Part1 - SS Oberscharfuhrer Kurt Schmidt audio interview 1/3 April 2015 by Ibrahim Ahmad | Free Listening on SoundCloud
Part2 - SS Oberscharfuhrer Kurt Schmidt audio interview 2/3 April 2015 by Ibrahim Ahmad | Free Listening on SoundCloud
Part3 - SS Oberscharfuhrer Kurt Schmidt audio interview 3/3 April 2015 by Ibrahim Ahmad | Free Listening on SoundCloud
Here is the full gallery of pictures from his photo album that he scanned and saved into a thumbdrive for me - https://www.flickr.com/photos/482847...7650686523374#
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And these are the interview questions I asked him in German language
* Wann sind Sie der Waffen-SS beigetreten ?? War das ihre freie Entscheidung oder wurden sie dafür ausgewählt??
* Was war Ihr erster Gedanke, als Sie erfuhren, dass Sie in dieser Elite Division kommen werden?? Was haben ihre Eltern, Familie und Freunde darüber gedacht?? Um Zugang zu dieser militärischen Einheit zu erlangen muss man körperlich sehr fit sein.
* können Sie sich an ihren erste Kommandant erinnern?? Wie war Ihr erster Eindruck von ihm?? Und ihren kammeraden??
* Wo hat ihre militärische Ausbildung stattgefunden?? Wie hart haben sie das empfunden?? schätzen Sie etwas besonders an dieser Erinnerung??
** Wo hat Ihr erster Einsatz stattgefunden?? Können Sie mir Ihre Erfahrungen genauer erläutern??
** waren Sie im Kampf um Polen, September 1939 beteiligt ?? Können Sie mir bitte Ihre Erfahrungen erläutern Dazu werde ich ihm eine militärische Koordinierungs Karte zeigen
** Haben Sie sich in der Schlacht um Frankreich von Mai bis Juli 1940 beteiligt ?? Können Sie mir bitte erklären, welche Erfahrungen sie gemacht haben Dazu werde ich Ihnen eine militärische Koordinierungs Karte zeigen
** Haben Sie sich Im Kampf um den Balkan und Griechenland von März bis April 1941 beteiligt ?? Können Sie mir bitte erklären, welche Erfahrungen sie gemacht haben?? Dazu werde ich Ihnen eine militärische Koordinierungs Karte zeigen
** Lina zeigte mir ein Bild von Ihnen mit dem Eisernen Kreuz von Sepp Dietrich in der Ukraine eingerichtet Juli 1941. Können Sie mir sagen, wodurch Sie diese Auszeichnung erhalten haben?? Können Sie mir dazu mehr über ihre Erfahrungen in der Ukraine berichten?? Bitte lesen Sie diese militärische Koordination Karte
** Haben Sie sich in der Rückeroberung von Charkow Januar bis März 1943 beteiligt ?? Wie haben Sie sich nach diesem Sieg gefühlt?? Der die russische winteroffensive endlich beendete. Bitte lesen Sie diese militärische Koordination Karte
** Was halten Sie von dem nachfolgenden Verlust im Juni auf Juli 1943 in der Schlacht von Kursk?? In militärischer Hinsicht, was das eine große Niederlage. Die Wehrmacht ist nicht mehr in der Offensive und wird sich von der Ostfront zurückziehenden. Bitte lesen Sie diese militärische Koordination Karte **,wie wurden sie behandelt als Sie von den Sowjets gefangen genommen wurden ??
** Wann erfuhren Sie über den Verbündeten Angriff an der Westfront?? Was haben Sie gedacht und gefühlt??
** wie war ihr Leben nach dem Krieg, als Sie entlassen wurden und zurück nach Deutschland kehrten??
** kam es zu treffen mit ihren Kameraden nach dem Krieg ??
** Was sind Gedanken über: -
Oberstgruppenführer Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, Brigadeführer Theodor Wisch, Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke, Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer,
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(English translations)
* when did you joined the waffen ss ?? Did you volunteer or were you drafted ??
* what was your first impression when you found out that you were in this elite division ?? What did your parents , family & friends think ?? To qualify entrance to this military unit you have to be the best above everyone else in physical fitness
* who was your first commander of your unit ?? What did you think of him and your unit comrades ??
* where was your military training ?? How tough was it ?? What do you most remember about it ??
* where was your first deployment ?? Can you please tell me your experience
* Were you involved in the battle for Poland , September 1939 ?? Can you please tell me your experience , I will show him a military coordination map
* Were you involved in the battle for France , May to July 1940 ?? Can you please tell me your experience , I will show him a military coordination map
* Were you involved in the battle for the Balkans & Greece , March to April 1941 ?? Can you please tell me your experience , I will show him a military coordination map
* Lina showed me a picture of you being decorated with the Iron Cross by Sepp Dietrich in Ukraine , July 1941. Can you tell me how you received that award ?? Can you tell me your experience in Ukraine ?? Please see this military coordination map
* Were you involved in the recapture of Kharkov , January to March 1943 ?? How did you feel of this victory after finally stopping the Russian winter offensive. Please see this military coordination map
* What do you think of the subsequent loss in June to July 1943 at the battle of Kursk ?? In military terms , after this huge military defeat . The Wehrmacht is no longer on the offensive and it is retreating from the eastern front. Please see this military coordination map
** when were you captured by the soviets ?? How were you treated ??
** when did you know about the allies attack at the western front ?? What did you think and feel about it ??
** after the war , when were you released and returned back to Germany ?? How was your life after that ??
** did you meet up with any of your comrades after the war ??
** what are thoughts on :-
Oberstgruppenführer Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, Brigadeführer Theodor Wisch, Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke, Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer,
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**Update - Just days before my birthday on 21st May 2017 , he surprised me by sending 7 signed autographed of himself and a nice greeting postcard Thank you

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Looking for all relevant info & items on WW2 German U-boats in Singapore and Asia for my research.
http://monsun-uboats.blogspot.com

[Anderson]

An interesting interview, thanks for posting it.

[MAP]

I enjoyed reading it and was not in his shoes so I can not judge. I will take it on faith that these are his true memories, but on the surface I would not be surprised if others feel that it is a bit selective or whitewashed.

Just my opinion and don't mean to judge ones integrity.

[thecyclist64]

Totally enjoyed reading every minute of this. I always like something different like this

[Rakkasan187]

Incredible to have captured this story from an Adversary.. You did a remarkable job.. Thank you for capturing this Warrior's story..

Smitty

[real steel]

Incredible to have captured this story from an Adversary.. You did a remarkable job.. Thank you for capturing this Warrior's story..

Smitty

I agree. Not often...well extremely rare to have the opportunity to record/document something like this. I think you did a fine job also

[hucks216]

Comparing the French Resistance and Russian Partisans to ISIS seems to ignore the fact that it was the Germans that had invaded their countries and committed atrocities too numerous to count. As mentioned above, there seems to be a degree of whitewashing present in his narrative as well as feigning ignorance of war crimes, or excusing wholesale mass murder as being a justified reaction to a previous event.

[Paul D]

Comparing the French Resistance and Russian Partisans to ISIS seems to ignore the fact that it was the Germans that had invaded their countries and committed atrocities too numerous to count. As mentioned above, there seems to be a degree of whitewashing present in his narrative as well as feigning ignorance of war crimes, or excusing wholesale mass murder as being a justified reaction to a previous event.

I have interviewed many German veterans overe the years including many fron the Waffen SS and do agree with the above comments , some rather strange comments that do tend to whitewash the role of the Leibstandarte as the likes of Mohnke and the uhits under his command were responsible for atrocities from 1940 onwards until the end of the war but an interesting interview never the less . What exact units of the LAH did he serve with ?

[Paul D]

I take it that in the interview you mean his Commander in Russia was Joseph " Jupp " Diefenthal ?

[Anderson]

Yes, this gentleman's comment about partisans and ISIS "because they attacked from the rear" caught my eye as it is similar to the Nazi doctrine at the time. It reminded me of Hitler's infamous "Commando Order", secretly issued, as they knew it was contrary to the Geneva Convention, but requiring all units to execute all captured parachutists and "commando saboteurs". "...All members of terrorist and saboteur bands, including (on general principle) all parachutists encountered outside the immediate combat zone (ie behind the lines), are to be executed." Fuhrer's order of 18 October 1942.

By 1944/45 not only commando parachutists faced this likely outcome if caught, but increasingly the SS was grabbing Allied aircrew who had baled out over German controlled territory. There are several well documented cases of US and RAF personnel captured in the custody of the Luftwaffe, having to be surrendered to the SS, who took them to the woods and executed them, while others were sent to Concentration camps rather than POW camps.

So it's an interesting comment of the LAH man that conducting raids and attacks "from the rear" is dishonorable. I suspect that was part of the doctrine taught by the SS.